Footage mix from Panasonic HVX-201 AE +HDC SD 20:possible??

[Sateur]

Hi,

I am shooting with the Panasonic HVX-201 AE P2 format DVCPRO HD, 1080/50i 1920 x 1080 px and edit with Adobe premiere.

Now I need to buy a middle of the road cam to do some fly on the wall footage to cut into the main movie... If i look at the specs and find a Panasonic HDC-SD20
H.264 format with screen resolution of 1920 x 1080 px

My worry is can I mix recorded footage from both cams in Adobe premiere

I hope some one can tell me more about this before I buy a low end camcorder.

Thanx in advance .... Rick

[senu]

NOt sure but have edited your thread titile
Phil (Hinton) might know

[chrishull3]

Avchd and hdv can be mixed and i think all footage will mix even if some coversion is needed.

[ade4all]

If that camera is avchd I think panasonic have a bit of software free for download which will transcode it to DVCPRO HD

[A n d r e w]

Might be tough matching the imagery when cutting between the HVX and the HDC, but not such an issue if you want the fly-on-the-wall to look fly-on-the-wall-like, if you know what I mean. Also, once you start mucking about with the levels, an AVCHD picture starts to fall apart pretty quickly, in my experience (using the Panasonic SD9) - there's a limit to the amount of manipulation you can achieve before the codec's inherent limitations reveal themselves.

[ade4all]

that is more to do with the bit rate the sd9 is using rather than avchd codec itself, using the highest bit rate on panasonic hmc151 creates a better image to manipulate than say hdv, it is a more efficient codec just depends what quality your camera is capable of capturing

[chrishull3]

Resolution wise i have found no problem mixing hdv and avchd[sr 12]footage, in pratice its easier to convert avchd to mpeg2, and i know someone who mixes hg21 ex3 and z7 footage.

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by ade4all

that is more to do with the bit rate the sd9 is using rather than avchd codec itself

That's right, and the SD20 has the same maximum bit rate (17mbps), so my point still stands. Besides, I fail to see how the bit rate employed in a particular implementation of AVCHD isn't part of the codec. I'm not saying you can't use different footage on the same timeline (so long as your NLE permits it), I'm merely saying if you want to achieve certain looks (for example, very high contrast), AVCHD may not be your bag.

[ade4all]

The hmc151 can capture at 21 mbps which creates a very solid image & can handle a fair degree of manipulation, more so I feel than most hdv cameras - I was just pointing out that it is not the avchd codecs inherent limitations so much as the quality of the camera & the bit rate it uses. I think it is a better codec than hdv at decent bit rates & will slowly take over from hdv in the medium size camera market. Hopefully computers will be able to handle it better soon too
to the op I would try the panasonic transcode so that at least you can edit in the same codec, though of course the footage is going to be of differing quality

[A n d r e w]

Originally Posted by ade4all

The hmc151 can capture at 21 mbps which creates a very solid image & can handle a fair degree of manipulation, more so I feel than most hdv cameras - I was just pointing out that it is not the avchd codecs inherent limitations so much as the quality of the camera & the bit rate it uses.

Fair enough, but the OP hasn't mentioned the HMC151 - he or she is talking about the SD20.

[ade4all]

I know that & agree with most you said, it was just this bit

Originally Posted by A n d r e w

once you start mucking about with the levels, an AVCHD picture starts to fall apart pretty quickly, in my experience (using the Panasonic SD9) - there's a limit to the amount of manipulation you can achieve before the codec's inherent limitations reveal themselves.

which I felt could be misconstrued as an avchd issue rather than the limitations of the sd9, was just giving an example of a camera where the avchd codec holds up very well - & to be honest is impossible to tell the difference between the hmc151 & the hvx201 the op is also using
(sorry, I have veared the conversation away from the original query)

I

[A n d r e w]

Good point - my post was potentially misleading. Now, what was the original query again?

[ade4all]

no worries, the irony was i think my explaination was probably misleading